The Arc of Your Story

If your life were a movie, what is your grand finale moment? What happens when all the subplots are tied together and you triumph? What are your trophies, prizes, relationships gained or healed?

And what is the change that you--your main character--undergoes in the course of your movie?

Aristotle wrote long about about five levels of happiness. The first level is our appetites, our natural desires for food, sex, comfort--for things. However, we find that if we indulge these appetites, even the best sex and the best food can become boring and unsatisfying after a while. We find that no matter how much we try to fill these appetites there's always a feeling of lack. So, most of us move beyond seeking happiness and fulfillment only on this first level.

The second level of happiness, represents the joy we feel when we accomplish something, attain a new skill, and achieve rewards and status. But this happiness begins to pale when we start to compare ourselves with others. We always find that there are others who are better than we are, or who, if we're Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods, overtake us.
So, we begin to look for happiness on the third level.

The third level of happiness is the satisfaction that comes through altruism, through doing something for others without thought of return. This is the level of human love that goes beyond the mere satisfaction of appetite. This kind of joy is what prompts people to go to the far reaches of the world with organizations like Doctors Without Borders or take up work with organizations like Children's Aid. But we only have so much to give. The overwhelming suffering and problems sap our energies. This level of happiness is vulnerable to feelings of exhaustion, of being drained.

The fourth level of happiness is the joy found in a relationship with the divine, with a power greater than ourselves that replenishes us spiritually. This relationship replensishes our souls so that we have the energy for level three, the ability to enjoy level two without comparisons that make us bitter, and level one without excess.

In most movies that resonate with us, we see a character move from one level of happiness, say level one, to
a higher level. Take a movie like Jerry Maguire. He moves from a level 2 to a level 3 in this story.

The change in a character is called "The arc of the story".

What do you want the arc of your story to be?

What makes you happiest now? Are you satisfied with that level? Would you like to change it?
If you want to move to another level, what sort of time are you storyboarding to attend to
levels three and four?

Take a look at your calendar. Where are you spending mosts of your time? Are you attending to level one appetites most of the time? (Well, most of us are in the sense that we sleep for the bulk of our time!)

How much time are you devoting to your family life in a level three way? How much to your spiritual life?

You can determine the arc of your story, even if you can't always control the circumstances of your life.
But your character and your response to your circumstances is under your control and based on the choices you make.